BMW 320i convertible opinion

[Luke2184]

Hi Guys, I’m considering a bmw 320i convertible auto As a daily driver, I’m giving my crap Kia Venga to my son as his first car. My z4 will remain my summer toy it’s going nowhere.

Has any one here had one, are they practice enough for shopping trips etc. is the folding roof ever a problem ie faults.
Which engine is the best comprise for economy & fun.
Any help would be great

 

[jabber]

Which model year are tou looking at?

 

[Mr Tidy]

Whatever age it is I imagine it will have a 4 cylinder engine.

Both my BMW Indys recommended sticking to 6 cylinder petrols, so my daily is an E90 330i and I really like it. Prior to that I had an E91 325i which I also liked but just wanted a bit more grunt!

 

[Huzee4]

My other car is a 320d cabriolet, owned it for 5 years and it’s never given an ounce of trouble, superb drive, comfortable, brilliant on fuel and fully loaded, not a Zed but on a long run a much more relaxed and smooth drive especially on the motorway

 

[True-Blue]

I had a 320 hardtop convertible with the N43 engine, without researching first…. Big mistake.

When it is running ok, it’s so underpowered lugging the hefty tip top about that it’s not fun to drive at all.

Google ‘N43 reliability….’ That will tell you all you need to know.

If you want a small, fun bmw 4 seater convertible…. Get a 1 series 125i… it’s physically the same engine as the 3.0Si Z4, with power output restricted by software. A simple remap gets to close to Si power, which is a lot of fun in the 1 series.

Form memory, it will be a few BHP down on an Si, because the exhaust system is less efficient (I believe)